Ledley King suffered a set-back on his return from injury on Tuesday when he was forced out of a friendly designed to boost his match fitness.
King limped off before half-time after a ball in the face knocked him off balance and he tweaked his knee on landing, during Tottenham's 5-2 win, behind closed doors, against Grays Athletic.
No luck: King (right) has struggled to get a lengthy run in the Spurs team
Spurs claimed last night he had been taken off purely as a precautionand that there was no swelling on his knee but it is anotherfrustrating episode for the 29-year-old defender.
King suffers from a chronic knee problem which prevents him playing more than once a week and limits his training between games.
He has played only eight times this season and has failed to last morethan an hour in three of them. He has not played since injury ahamstring against Sunderland last month.
King is out of contract at the end of the season. Tottenham have anoption to extend it by another 12 months but are unlikely to exerciseit if his fitness problems continue.
Spurs manager Harry Redknapp also has Jonathan Woodgate out with a groininjury until the New Year but there was better news concerning the fitness of Luka Modric, whostepped up his recovery from a broken leg by completing 70 minutes ofaction against Grays.
The Croatia international has not played since suffering the injury during the 2-1 win over Birmingham in August and is now hoping to win a place on the bench for Saturday's Premier League clash with Wolves.
Mexico international Giovani dos Santos scored twice in the friendly after returning from an ankle injury which has kept him sidelined since the Carling Cup win over Preston in late September.
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